Constable harasses woman, abducts family

Incident occurs after victim has dispute with policeman’s female friend

LAHORE: There seems to be no end to police highhandedness as another incident was reported in the city. This time, a woman and two of her minor daughters were allegedly harassed, humiliated and finally abducted by a police constable identified as Farooq. The incident reportedly took place after the victim had a dispute with the constable’s friend.

The victim alleged that she had a dispute with a female friend of a constable. Consequently, he raided the house, abducted her and the daughters and detained them at the police station. He forced them to stay at the station till late at night and also subjected them to humiliation.

Police authorities got ahold of footage in which the victim could be seen sitting on a charpoy, while the constable is sitting next to her and making inappropriate/unwanted advances. The incident occurred in the absence of women police officials.

SP City Syed Ghazanfar Ali said he has taken notice of the incident and stated that standard operating procedures (SOP) had been violated. He pointed out that policy is clear that a woman cannot be held and forced to sit in a police station without a female official. The officer said she also cannot be asked to sit at night in the police station. Police authorities were investigating the matter further and have vowed to bring the culprits to justice.

This month has been ripe with incidents of police brutality highhandedness. Also, in May 2019, another FIR was registered against officials of Shadman police for abducting a citizen for extortion. The officials were already in jail on charges of abducting another citizen when an FIR was registered against them in Wahdat Colony on court orders.

Apart from this, a man performing wheelies on a motorbike was brutally tortured in a Lytton Road. Footage of the incident emerged, showing a group of police officials physically assaulting the victim who was helplessly screaming and begging for mercy.

Separately, Dolphin Squad officials reportedly tortured a shopkeeper. In the same month, a Dolphin Squad team shot dead an innocent woman in Nishter Colony. On the day of the woman’s slaying, a case of police brutality was reported in DHA when the cops allegedly thrashed a youth for refusing to pay a bribe.

In another recent incident, Race Course police officials snatched money from a young boy who was going to buy medicine for his mother. They also assaulted him so brutally that he had to be admitted to the hospital.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2019.